About Lacey and REDSAIL Property Management

REDSAIL Property Management manages around 300 doors. Beyond property management they help their owners manage the transaction process if they want to sell, which became more common for them in the past 6 months than previously.

Lacey started at REDSAIL 6 months before the time of this interview with no real estate or property management experience, and she took on the role of Transaction Coordinator for this aspect of their business.

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The Problem

Since Lacey was new to the role AND the industry, a streamlined process was critical to ensure a smooth handoff from the previous transaction coordinator to her, which is something they just didn't have up to this point.

REDSAIL had a spreadsheet and several other systems to help with the transaction process, but they were extremely lacking in:

1. Specificity - The spreadsheet gave her general points about what to do in the process, but without specific instructions of how to do it.
2. Due dates - Due dates weren't communicated clearly so it was dangerously likely that important work would not be completed on time.
3. Consolidation - Tasks, communications, and data about the client and the property were not consolidated which introduced a lot of manual work into the process
4. Streamlining - Since the process was not fully documented or "dummy proof", it required extra time, effort and brain power to get to the finish line, not to mention avoiding mistakes along the way.

“I just didn’t know how to do the steps in the most efficient way, in a streamlined way.”

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The Tipping Point

“The tipping point [that made us choose LeadSimple] was when the market changed, and there were suddenly a lot of owners wanting to put their homes on the market. The spreadsheet was fine when we needed to only do 2 or 3 transactions every so often… but that quickly became unorganized…"

This goes to show that some systems will work under lighter work loads, but as soon as you need to scale that system to handle higher work loads it breaks down.

Our broker realized how well LeadSimple had helped us with PM leads and saw it would be useful for the transaction management side as well.”

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The Solution

Lacey found their new LeadSimple system most helpful in these areas:

Consolidation

“For me, consolidating all the information, keeping track of communications, seeing all emails in one client profile… that saves me so much time!”

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“I can easily switch between my lead management tasks and the transaction management side because it’s consolidated into one system.”

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Communication

They have built all their emails, texts and phone calls right into the process. Email and SMS templates and merge tags allow them to send messages so much faster or entirely automatically, because the message is already written and all the data they need to include in it is automatically populated before it sends.

Two-way communication tracking (email, sms, and call) helps provide a single source of truth Lacey can reference when clients send the inevitable "I don't remember talking about that" message, and provide evidence for legal purposes should things go south.

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Conditional, Branching Logic

Conditional logic allows them to build branches into the transaction process when things need to be done differently based on the property, owner, buyer, or other criteria that is unique to the specific transaction.

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Due Dates and Deadlines

Due dates are absolutely critical in the real estate transaction process, and REDSAIL worked with LeadSimple to make sure all tasks in the process get auto-scheduled for the right dates and times, and reminders get sent out to the correct people.

“One of my favorite things is being able to customize the dashboard view to see what transactions are coming up, and when tasks need to be done.”

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“I can also set task reminders to keep things on track!”

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Task Assignment

"Tasks can be assigned to different users so they get reminders when they need to step into the process."

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Detailed Instructions - "Dummy Proof-ness"

Task instructions can be added to explain exactly HOW each task should be done, by video, screenshot, or text.

Data can get entered in the process from task instructions as well, and be automatically inserted in email templates in the future.

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Lacey's recommendations to others who want to streamline transaction management

“I can’t understand how so many other transaction managers don’t use streamlined systems... Down to the little details, going to get the sign out of the yard or pick up the lockbox… those tasks are not second nature, so you need to build the process down to the smallest tasks."

But you don't need to reinvent the wheel if you want to streamline this process, or any other process.

“Someone has already figured this out, so you just need to find the right people who have solved it and get their help to mentor you and understand [the process].”

Getting someone to help you actually build the process is a good idea too.

"Getting someone in there to flesh out the process for your business was very important too because everyone does transaction management a little bit differently."

And lastly,

"At the end of the day, find a good software system and then find the right people to help you implement the process."

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Do you want to streamline your real estate processes?

We would love to help you see the same results in your business that Lacey and REDSAIL are experiencing, and our expert team on consultants is ready to get you there.

Schedule a free consultation to define your goals, set up a plan, and get you started on the path to success!